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There is no end to edvcation. It is not that yov read a book, pass an examination, and finish

with edvcation. The whole of life, from the moment yov are born to the moment yov

die, is a process of learning.

- J. Krishnamvrui

By students of I am a Teacher Issue 1, September 2015

I am a Teacher (IAAT) is a not-for-profit organization, with the objective to set up an alternative working model for teacher preparation. The first batch of its Post Graduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching (PGDLT) joined in June 2015. This is a practice based, one year full time program, where students (called Residents) spend a whole year in actual school classrooms, as an apprentice alongside mentor-teachers. Besides, they also have course work through the year that helps them integrate theory and practice. The host school is the Heritage School, Gurgaon, where mentor teachers have been selected through a process of peer nomination, where their peers judged them to be highly competent teachers.

Me: How did the concept of IAAT come about?

Smriti: During my stint with Mirambika and The

Heritage School, I saw that these schools were

doing a lot for teacher development. I realised

that it is all about knowing yourself, what you

want to do with your life and what you can take

to the classroom. I learnt that helping teachers

find their voice can ultimately transform our

classrooms. Only empowered teachers can em-

power our children. I guess thats where the idea

must have set in; the vision to contribute in re-

modelling the teacher education system of our

country. I was aware there were very few good

teacher education programmes in the country.

Me: Can you elaborate on your experiences at

Harvard where you did Masters in Instructional

Leadership?

Smriti: During my course, I took an independent

study on different teacher education programmes

in the US like Harvard, Boston Teacher Residen-

cy (BTR), High Tech High, Shady Hill, etc. I in-

terned with BTR and was really impressed with

what they were doing. I learned a lot from these

models and integrated some of these insights in

the IAAT programme. I believe it is important to

bring theory and practice together to prepare

effective teachers for our country.

Me: How did this name come about?

Smriti: Usually, when people ask about your pro-

fession and you say, I am a teacher, they look at

you as if its nothing big. They may sound like,

Oh! You are just a teacher. Its actually hap-

pened to me as well. So when the name came to

me, it meant something significant. I wanted that

pride to come across when you say I Am a

Teacher!

Me: Now that your dream has turned to reality,

what are your thoughts, feelings & apprehen-

sions, if any?

Smriti: The first few days were just unreal and

only now, it has sunk in (laughs)!! I am glad

about it because I am genuinely hopeful that

students are going to benefit from this, in some

way or the other. There are still many challeng-

es though. I really have to do a lot more to make

the programme self-sustainable.

Me: What next?

Smriti: The programme has to become truly ef-

fective. The next step is to do a great job with

our current students, so that they are ready tor

the classroom when they leave and become the

kind of teachers we want them to be. We would

definitely like to have a few more host schools

in future and make this initiative contribute to-

wards rethinking teacher education in our coun-

try. We also aspire that school transformation

and teacher education should work together as

an integrated whole. Taking small steps, one at

a time, but yes, moving ahead!

Me: A message youd like to send across.

Smriti: Dream, dream and dream, because

dreams have a lot of power and once you take

the first step, the rest falls in place, so follow

what your heart says!!

Only as high as I reach can I grow,

only as far as I seek can I go,

only as deep as I look can I see,

only as much as I dream can I be.

-Karen Ravn

She had a dream, a beautiful vision, to reform the teacher education system of the

country, and this dream transformed into I AM A TEACHER, a not for-

profit organisation that has started a one-of-a-kind Teachers Education Pro-

gramme. In my tte--tte with Smriti Jain, the co-founder, I realised that dreams

do come true, you just have to have that conviction and faith in yourself.

Interview by Megha Jobanputra

The day we began -Sivadevi

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The journey began with our quests inscribed on snowy stones and blessings from valued well-wishers of the education field, in a divine arena, inscribing a magical effect on each of us.

The two day Orientation program was an amazing ice-breaking session, as we all welcomed each other in-troducing ourselves with warm hugs, laying the foundation for our solid relationship for the course.

Each one of us brought in our unique strengths to the gathering through the Diyas we lighted and shared the energy through the light . We were all encouraged to write our burning questions in our life on a pure white stone and there began my habit of reflecting, which has become a substantial aspect for my inner transformation thereafter.

Expedition to Damdama and Kadarpur villages near Gurgaon - Manjula

The very mention of a village will transport one to a place where people are self-reliant and live simple lives. They work hard, facing challenges at ease, de-pend on agriculture for living. But Damdama depict-ed a very different picture. Farming is no longer the key source of living. The area is hilly and the existing wells have dried up. Lack of electricity is another major problem. I asked the youth of this village if they were interested in farming. Majority of them answered in the negative.

Status of Women

We found that the elected panchayat women mem-bers existed only in paper. They have no say in the affairs of the village. They dont go for panchayat meetings, their respective husbands are participating in panchayat affairs and this is seen as perfectly natu-ral! People are still driven by the notion that a girl's duty after marriage is to look after the chores of her new household. Hence, education for girls is neglect-ed. Gladly, we came across a few households where emphasis is laid on educating the girl beyond school. But that was not the usual trend.

A mother of five children, had delivered all her chil-dren at home under the supervision of a local mid-wife. She has no regrets. The womenfolk, especially daughters-in-law of almost all households, follow a demanding work schedule, having little time for them-selves. They live in purdah and speak in a low voice. Most of them expressed their desire of pursuing high-er studies and living better lives.

School education

In government schools, there was no school fees upto class 8; school books, bag, uniform and mid day meals were provided free of cost to students. However, some classes had benches but in others students sat on the floor; there were frequent power cuts and teachers often would beat students with a cane. In some cases students hair were pulled as punishment. The quality of food was also not consistent. Those who could afford Rs.1000 1500 per month opted for private schools. Though in private schools as well, the teachers were under-qualified and girls from near-by villages were working as school teachers after get-ting senior secondary education. Most girls of Damdama have dropped out of school after eighth standard. Even though the village is very close to Na-tional capital, Damdama has no senior secondary gov-ernment school and parents dont want to send girls to other schools outside village. As a result girls have to drop out of schooling.

Governance

I used to think that government is not doing much for villages development in India. I found out from vil-lagers that each village panchayat gets one crore Ru-pees every five years for development. But many peo-ple in governance at the village or block level use it for personal gains and do almost nothing for their village and infrastructure development. They spend most part of this money in order to remain in power. Money from government reaches villages through various government schemes but does not trickle down to the last one in the line.

After three days of village expedition, we got clarity on many aspects of village life, but our minds got captured by many more fundamental questions...

What is the quality of Education in India after 68 years of independence?

What kind of democracy are we living in?

Will women ever be able to exercise their basic rights?

Every day of the retreat posed challenges bigger

than the previous day. On day two, we needed to

trek down a narrow and difficult path. On reach-

ing the destination I realized I was to do some-

thing I never imagined I could do Rappelling! I

dont have a fear of heights but was so unsure of

myself. I had a health condition which had made

even walking difficult for so many years and now

I had to do rappelling? But, I DID IT! It was a

HUGE moment for me. I had a great sense of

accomplishment. That was the first time self-

belief was restored in me. On reflection, I real-

ized what this activity taught me. I had to com-

pletely let go of my body weight and trust the in-

structor. I learnt it is very hard to let go but

unless I do it I cannot take the next step.

On deeper reflection I also realized that even

though a lot of members did not believe they

could complete the task, eventually they did be-

cause the instructor did not give up on them.

I learnt that a teachers belief in a student can

lead that student to accomplish things that

he/she might otherwise perceive as impossi-

ble.

A bigger challenge awaited on day three. We were

to do an uphill trek of 7.5 kms. Could I do it? I

wasnt sure but thought how great it would feel if

I did. Initially it seemed very challenging. But sur-

prisingly the higher I went, the easier it seemed.

The constant exchange of encouragement helped

and at other difficult moments the groups silent

support made the journey easier. I learnt that

even though a new beginning seems ex-

tremely tough, if I continue to persevere I will

reach my goal. And the more I persevere the

easier it will get. Bonfire and cooking process

seemed like a breeze. Each team member found a

role and got started. I learnt that we can con-

tribute and play our unique role in a team

without being loud and overpowering.

Our retreat in Junga, for Self and Leadership development ourse

-Harjeet

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Ushaji drew a girl on the board, her name is Himmat. She lives not very far from her naanis house, so went to visit her naani on her own. Her mom gave her laddoos for naani. She saw a lion with a big mouth open, yawning.

? - , ? - , -, -! - , , , ? - - ! ( ), 5 ( )- 3 , ? 2 , - 5 Teacher asks ? First day tell the story. Next day, a carton with a big hole drawn as the lions mouth. Laddoos are represent-ed by plastic balls.

Teacher ? Children have to throw balls into the mouth from a distance, and the class counts. Using numbers upto 5, many activities can be done.

(5 is an important landmark for children)

The schema theory suggests that words get organized

or stored in the brain like a thesaurus, not like a

dictionary.

Sonika, our faculty, actually demonstrated this in the

class. She asked us to list a few words starting with the

beginning sound ch, and then asked us to list a few

words that come to our mind about the word book.

When the responses were shared, it was found that

most people could list many words when book was

mentioned, and in a very limited time. Whereas, most

found it difficult to think of words with the beginning

sound ch, with many not able to list a single word.

Since a word (here, book) has a visual quality, the re-

call connected to it is much easier. Whereas, a begin-

ning sound is an abstract concept, and the brain finds

it difficult to base any recall on that.

This concept can have big implications on the way we

introduce reading to young children. Currently, it is

being introduced in the phonic way where children

learn to form and read words by blending letter

sounds. Is this really the best way?

Learning of Language a glimpse from our

class -Radhika

Learning of Math-a glimpse from our

class

,

!!! 6869.. 70.. 71... 72..

Come to Shajis Math class to know, how to

save a child from ...

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There was always this child in me who looked forward to birthdays and wishes from all the near and dear ones. It was my special day, everyone ought to make me feel spe-cial. I used to tread carefully making sure that every instant of that day was beautiful. But this year I felt that the child had grown. I did not have to search for moments, search for wishes, it was all right there. So much love, so much warmth and so many wishes. We could not celebrate my birthday on the actual date but celebrated a day later. A lot of my friends commented that we should have celebrated it on that very day. But with the warmth and love received, I felt that the day should never end and the fact that it actually extended into another day was in itself a blessing. Everyday should be a birthday. Everyday should be a celebration. Everyday is a blessing. Birthdays are a good time to make those resolutions for yourself. Thats when I talk to myself the most. I realized that birthdays need not be the times a person feels bad for their age. Each day we grow older, should we dread each day? Instead by making it a time of reflection, a person can use their birthdays to reach goals and become a better person. This was a thought that was shared by Smriti that really appealed to me. Birthdays are special days when there is so much positive energy created around. Conserve this energy and reflect on such days, through your own reflections a new person takes birth again on this special day.

Every moment we are born, every moment we are free -Sunayana

Self disciplined freedom -Pallavi and Sivadevi

What is freedom? What is discipline? Are these mu-tually exclusive or inclusive? Such questions have been hovering above us, especially after our stint with philosophy of education. While engaging with the works of Aurobindo, J. Krishnamurthi and A. S. Neill, we realized these are no easy terms to fathom. Who would have thought that freedom implies or-der, freedom does not mean allowing a child to do what he likes, to come to lunch and to class when he likes. And that discipline does not exist outside of us which can be imposed, but comes from within. Thus began the quest. Sivadevi took her learning a step ahead and experimented with her practicing class- grade 6.

While given the opportunity to handle the class in the absence of her Mentor teacher, she entered the class without any agenda of her own. Children went berserk with the freedom bestowed on them. Each one wanted to be louder than the other. After two days of chaos, she asked the children to think about what went right and wrong during the free time they

had in her class. A morning circle on the same was also conducted where students admitted that there was apparent lack of unity and an absence of a lead-er. They realized that each one of them will need to be the torchbearer of discipline. What next? Just af-ter the discussion, it was a sight to experience a game in progress where each child exercised self-discipline without any control required by the teach-er. Attaining discipline is a long process but its re-sults have ever lasting effects, claims Sivadevi. It was also possible for her since she implemented it in her personal life first. Try it out for yourself.

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Stress to Stillness -Sumedha

Have you ever experienced that pressure, anxiety, tension and the like create disequilibrium in ones state of

being? Doesnt it end up in anger and resentment? Do you feel the need to be at peace? In order to be in har-

mony, returning to the equilibrium state is of utmost importance. Here is the flow from disequilibrium to equi-

librium which I came across in Partho Bhaiyas session. It depicts the exact position where one has reached and

the way further. It has worked for me and I wish the same for you.

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Conflict resolution amongst children

-Monika

I really admire the way the facilitator converses and

resolves conflicts by connecting with students at their

level and probing out the answer from them. Con-

sistent exposure to the values and attitudes demon-

strated by the facilitator makes learners absorb the

same values and thus a student culture starts shaping

up. It almost reflects in whatever they do, the way

they think and the way they interact. In early years,

students have uninterrupted free play wherein they

are free to be and develop life skills like managing

themselves in a group, resolving their conflicts, re-

specting each other as well as resources, giving wings

to their imagination and thus connect well with each

other. They learn to patiently wait for their turns and

start caring for their friends.

E.g.: Kashish took Nabhia (a newcomer in the class)

under her wing and made her comfortable on the

first day itself by constantly being there for her and

by taking care of her.

Rajat scribbled on the writing table. Aarav saw it and

immediately cleaned it saying we should not spoil our

things.

Learners patiently waited for their turns when they

went to their Gardening patch which was quite

admirable.

Everyone was sitting in a circle. Aarav started playing

with toys. The Facilitator asked him to join the circle

but he said no. She patiently explained it to him that

this is no free play time so either he can join the cir-

cle or can go out with the other facilitator. He decid-

ed to go out. The Facilitator respected his decision.

Again he came back within a minute and sat down

with the class. During free play and group work I

have noticed students giving choices to each other.

The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a

fire to be kindled - Plutarch

Writing Workshop -Sunayana

All those who have never written a book, ever won-

dered what a book is? Is it just about a story or is

there more to it? We were all very eager to learn what

a writing workshop had to offer since most of us had

not had any experience with formal writing and that

too writing for children. Beth Norford started out

with reading Where the Wild Things Are. a week

later I remembered the story word to word as I have

read it a million times already. But that was not the

purpose of her workshop, there was much much

more to it.

She asked us to just start off with picking a topic with-

out any prompt whatsoever and start writing. No in-

spiration, no trigger, no direction, just write! Slowly

the class started coming up with ideas, ideas that

sparked more ideas and very soon we each had our

own topic to work upon. A couple brave souls were

invited to share their stories with the class and she

used the group dynamics to discover more about our

stories. I thought it was absolutely ingenious to have

the students connect with others stories and open up

their own chambers to create something simple and

beautiful. As we progressed into Day 2, we delved

into yet another aspect of the book - the cover.

There was a sudden explosion of ideas flowing

around like different coloured lights, a new idea

emerging at the cross section of the beams. There

was team work and the now omnipresent creativity.

For some of us who had never written before and

still didnt quite have the story, there was this sudden

want to write into our very own books. The stories

do not need to have morals explicitly called out, they

can be for the simple joy of reading. The plots can

vary from being simple to complex, the illustrations

to be complete stories in themselves to stories that

build that illustration. Day 3 culminated with the

completion of the cover and story in it along with a

Publishing Party. Class IV G was invited to our par-

ty and experience some of the latest creations. Her

admiration for literature and her love for books has

left us with not just a want but a need to build a cul-

ture of reading literature. We now have a whole new

definition to a book - there is creativity, there is im-

agination, there is expression, there is authors

thoughts and the authors style of presenting, there

is illustration, there is art of creating illustration

through words and then the much needed, the actual

story.

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

-Confucious

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Story telling session -Anita

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Story telling could be a powerful teaching tool, particularly with younger children who have a rich imagination. Stories may help chil-dren with listening skills, help them visualize things, setting and scenari-os that may not be immediate for them. Stories are the best medium to transport listeners to other peo-ples shoes or to worlds far away. We had a story-session, where one of the stories was about an earth-worm. As I started listening to the story, I was reminded of the rains and the numerous slimy earthworms that I used to come across on my walks back from the bus stop to my house. I used to and still find them creepy.

When the story began, I imagined a slimy brown earthworm. As the story progressed, I started developing a fondness for it. By the time the story ended, I thought that the earthworm was cute. I caught this thought as it entered my head and suddenly became aware of how powerful story-telling could be. It took a 5 minutes story to change my lifelong impression of an earthworm from yucky to cute.

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My Dream

-Harjeet

I want to discover, I want to explore

I want to understand all the more

Why is it that I do not believe

In the wonder that is me

I want to be a traveler who always walks

I want to be a dancer who never stops

I want to spread love

And be a true friend

And grow more and more

Till the very end

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